Zim skipper at wrong end of UDRS lbw rule

Ahmedabad, March 4: The debate over the UDRS' distance rule for leg-before-wicket decisions has surfaced again. In Sunday's match against India, English batsman Ian Bell was adjudged not out by the umpire after the technology showed him to be 2.5 metres in front of the stumps when the ball struck him on the pads. But raising questions of a double standard, today, Zimbabwean skipper Elton Chgumbura who found himself in a similar situation, was given out lbw.

In the 15th over of Zimbabwe's innings, with the score at 46/3, Elton Chigumbura charged out to a toassed up ball from off-spinner Daniel Vettori to be hit in line with the stumps. But he was clearly more than 2.5 metres in front when the ball hit his pads.

The replays and trajectory-simulation showed that it pitched on the line of the stumps, hit in front of middle as Chigumbura missed the chip to the leg side. The potentially questionable predictive powers of Hawk-Eye said it was hitting leg stump. The call went back to Umpire Erasmus, and he, like Billy Bowden the other day, stuck to his decision. Only, this time, it was "out".

The concerned authorities would have to sort out doubts regarding the 2.5-distance-rule once and for all, or else such scenarios would detract from the consistency (and credibility) of the UDRS in giving correct decisions, causing a lot of teams to go up in arms.Oneindia Cricket